For those of you that know Tonya, you know she is a passionate and dedicated nurse. We all also know she is much more than this, a faithful wife, wonderful mother, fantastic grandmother, steadfast friend, accomplished executive and lover of Jimmy Buffet. Yet she always identifies as a nurse first. Over her 49 years in the nursing profession she has continued to work to advance skills and education for people interested in dedicating themselves to the nursing profession. In 2015 she formalized this support in the form of a scholarship. In the past four years, she has awarded four amazing professional with her scholarship: Cinda Shipp (2015), Kayla Hill (2016), Amber Mundy (2017) & Catina Cannon (2018).

On the eve of Tonya's 70th birthday and her 50th year (still) working in nursing, I am asking for your support. She has asked to not receive any gifts for her birthday. However, she would be thrilled to receive donations to her scholarship fund. To ensure the scholarship is sustainable, she is aiming to add an additional $10,000 to the fund. I urge you to consider making a donation to help her give to others. This is a registered non-profit. You will receive a receipt for all donations.

The Tonya Heim Scholarship was created to provide educational assistance and remove barriers for Memorial ASN and diploma nurses for degree advancement.

The first priority of this scholarship is to provide assistance to RN employees of Memorial Hospital who are enrolled or plan to enroll in an accredited advancement program toward a BSN degree; second priority is to provide assistance for advancement to an MSN degree; third priority is for a DNP or Ph.D. nursing degree; and final priority is for assistance for those pursuing advance practice degrees, including but not limited to, NP or CRNA.